All Soccer news

MLS teams are regarded to be subpar among all the playing teams in the FIFA Club World Cup, considering that soccer isn’t that much of a popular sport in the country. However, expectations are brewing hot as the United States begin to play host for one of the biggest soccer club events in the world, and American teams aren’t showing up to live to the hype at this point. Nothing has been easy for the MLS teams heading into the Club World Cup. For starters, Inter Miami could not come up with a goal against Al Ahly, and it ended up in a massive draw. LAFC was hammered by Chelsea as expected, leading up to a 2-0 clean sheet win. But what was more surprising is the fact that the Seattle Sounders managed to score a goal out of all three MLS teams, despite losing to Botafogo, 2-1. Matchday 2 won’t come until a few days, and this just means that there’s a lot to expect from MLS teams trying to show that they can find ways to win even at least once in these FIFA Club World Cup matches. After all, it is not always that you get a chance to host such a historic event in the sport. Are MLS Teams that Bad? MLS teams have faced challenges in the FIFA Club World Cup, as evidenced by recent performances from the three participating teams. In the opening match of the 2025 Club World Cup, Inter Miami and Al Ahly played to a goalless draw. Despite Messi's efforts, including a near-miss in stoppage time, Inter Miami couldn't secure a win. Lionel Messi was involved in a controversial incident where he appeared to headbutt Al Ahly's Yasser Ibrahim during a corner kick, though no disciplinary action was taken. On the other hand, the Seattle Sounders lost 2–1 to Botafogo in their Club World Cup debut. Botafogo's Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus scored first-half headers. Seattle responded with a deflected goal by Cristian Roldan but couldn't find an equalizer. Despite increased pressure in the second half, including a crucial save by Botafogo's goalkeeper in stoppage time, Seattle fell short. Lastly, LAFC suffered a 2–0 defeat to Chelsea in their Club World Cup opener. Chelsea's Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez scored, with Hugo Lloris making key saves for LAFC. Despite generating some offensive pressure, LAFC couldn't capitalize on their chances, leading to that tough loss. Can MLS Teams Answer the Call? It’s not much all about battling hard and winning, but also getting some points. Suffice to say, LAFC is in danger of being eliminated with a loss and not a single goal scored. Seattle has logged a goal to the differential, while Inter Miami has a strong chance with points split in their 0-0 draw with Al Ahly. However, Inter Miami is going up against Porto, one of the toughest teams in Portugal. Seattle, on the other hand, will battle the gritty Atletico Madrid in their next showdown. LAFC may have a strong chance to claim massive points and bounce back with ES Tunis set as their next opponent. This is a prime chance for MLS teams to prove that they have what it takes to win. After all, this is the biggest stage that the clubs can play in with bigger stakes at hand.

The Seattle Sounders have their eyes set on a bigger prize this season with the FIFA Club World Cup in their sights. However, it seems that midfielder Obed Vargas is slated to bring his talent on display in perhaps the biggest stage of his career with the hopes of showing his worth and earning some promising minutes. Much has been said about how the Seattle Sounders when it comes to playing at a high, competitive level in the MLS, and the sixth seed team is showing that they have what it takes to play against the best teams in the world. As the CWC comes to the United States, Seattle is one of the representing teams, and Vargas is expected to be clear for takeoff in these games. Considering how well he has played over the course of the season, it is worth noting that he’s still just 19. The Anchorage native has been on some good runs this season, and perhaps this is the time that he gets the exposure he needs to prove that he is a strong performer for the club. Spotlight on Vargas Vargas is expected to draw a lot of attention when the games begin as well, which comes this Sunday against Brazilian side Botafogo. There are rumors that European scouts and even sporting directors will be keeping an eye on him – more than any other player in the upcoming tournament. “At this point, what I’d say is I don’t know if there’s a club in the world that doesn’t know who he is,” Sounders general manager and chief soccer officer Craig Waibel told reporters of Vargas after a recent training session. “I mean, anyone who’s got analytics, he’s triggered and kind of set off the red alarms.” Considering that Anchorage isn’t much of a hotspot for soccer talent – with lots of hockey players focusing instead, it may be easy to sleep on what Vargas has to offer. But it is worth noting that Vargas is an accomplished player in his own right. After all, he’s won a total of four State Cups – even if it doesn’t offer the reality check compared to the competition in the mainland. Grounded and Humble Despite all the praises he has been receiving in his game, there are a lot of talks as to how Vargas downplays the value he brings to the table. After all, this seems to be what he’s all about – putting up a humble level of play to show how he remains grounded even he gets on the explosive level of play. “It's not the same as everywhere else. Not as many teams. Not as much competition. There are maybe four or five teams in the whole state,” said Vargas on his upbringing. “And so that kind of always kept me grounded, kept me humble because I knew I was the best player here in Alaska. But I didn't know how far that was going to get me.” Vargas is heading to his first FIFA Club World Cup, and it seems that the midfielder will be gaining some valuable experience that will make him a more rounded player on the field, which should help him improve his level of play too. Discipline is a strong suit for Vargas. Heading into the Club World Cup, this seems to be a needed trait as the Sounders hope to come up with impressive performances in that campaign.

The surrounding hype of the FIFA Club World Cup is making a lot of noise as of late, and it is because the best clubs in the world are coming in on the big stage to prove their worth to show that they have what it takes to win it all against the best of the best. But will MLS teams be able to showcase their worth this time? Fans in America are definitely excited to see how well the MLS teams will fare against elite clubs from all corners of the globe. It is expected that it will be a lot of intense competition, and the hype continues to bring more attention to the LAFC, Inter Miami, and the Seattle Sounders. Beginning this Saturday, these three MLS teams will participate in the Group Stages of the said event. No MLS team has ever managed to reach the final four of the competition, and one can say that there is bigger pressure in the United States as they play host to the tournament of champions. This is why fans are keen to see these MLS teams at least thrive and deliver success to the country. A Promising Look LAFC may have the best chance of at least stealing a game in Group D, where they will face Clube de Regatas do Flamengo of Brazil, Espérance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia, and Chelsea FC of England. Two of these teams are champions on the world stage, which says a lot about how the expectations are high for the Los Angeles club. Chelsea stands as the team to beat for this group, although Flamengo is another giant that would really be hard to underestimate for LAFC. Winning at least two would be a success for the American side now more than ever. Inter Miami is considered to be the MLS giants, and for good reason. Lionel Messi says it all – a club bursting with talent compared to the version of the club that we have watched in the past few years. Miami will play SE Palmeiras of Brazil, FC Porto of Portugal, and Al Ahly FC of Egypt, which is going to be quite an easy work for the team and may even see them finish first or second in their games. Nothing could go wrong well for the team, save for Al Ahly, which has been one of the dark horses to make a deep run in this tournament. The Sounders Making a Statement Perhaps you have already heard of how the Seattle Sounders are voicing out their frustrations on the tournament management by FIFA and the financial winnings about a week ago. Still, the Sounders are one of the big teams to look out for – had they not been drawn to what we can say is the group of death in the competition. Seattle is set to play against the winner of the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain of France, Atlético de Madrid of Spain, and Botafogo of Brazil. A win would be too much to expect, but possibly a draw against any one of these elite teams could turn out to be an impressive showing from the American side. Who knows, maybe the underdogs can come up with a promising story of winning on their own. After all, they would have the fan advantage at home heading to the games.

The CONCACAF Champions Cup has always been one to determine the best among elite teams in the North Americas. Last year, it was Columbus Crew who took home the crown, and now it is all far from the MLS as the Vancouver Whitecaps lost out on their chance to win the final when they lost to the Cruz Azul. But to say that the Whitecaps lost is an understatement. They were, after all, heavy favorites to win this showdown in the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, only to disappoint the many fans and critics who were rooting for them as they dropped a 5-0 clash against the LIGA MX side – a poor finish for the first time in a long while. The Whitecaps, who are the best team in the Western Conference, was nowhere near their best when they battled Cruz Azul. They took an absolute beating all around and could not find their groove when it mattered most, ending up in a clean sheet win for the latter team and for Vancouver to go back to the drawing board and refocus their priorities in keeping hold of the top spot in the West. A Tough Loss for the Whitecaps Azul did not let up in almost every single moment in the game, and one can say that there have been a lot of missed opportunities for Vancouver to make the most of its chances. In fact, the 5-0 finish is just Azul missing out some key shots, and it would have been double the deficit if they made all of their shots. Nothing has been easy for Vancouver for the whole game. Cruz Azul limited the passing lanes and had a body on almost every other player for the Whitecaps, and the defense was ultimately swarming a lot to the point that the Canadian side did not even get a shot off FOR THE WHOLE GAME. Vancouver did try to show some signs of life in the game. Head coach Jasper Sørensen subbed up Emmanuel Sabbi and Mathías Laborda with the hopes of changing up the pace of the attack. However, the effort was futile as the Whitecaps could not turn the tables in the game, especially when Cruz was already up 5-0 before halftime. By the Numbers The stat sheet was as realistic as it could be. It was all Cruz Azul as they nabbed eight shots on target coming off 18 attempts overall. Vancouver, on the other hand, had no shot attempts at all, which says a lot about how the game came into this poor finish for the team. Azul held most of the ball for 68% and was on-point with their passes, finishing with a total of 550 on 89% accuracy. Nothing worked well for Vancouver on that end as well, as they only had possession of the ball for 32% of the game, including 79% pass accuracy for 267 passes made. Entering this match, the Whitecaps were unbeaten in all competitions for 15 straight games. It could not have come at a worse time, considering that this was a high-stakes match with the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup slots were on the line. Now it seems that they will have to wait for another chance to prove their worth on that big stage now more than ever.

Atlanta could not have timed it well perfectly in claiming their first win in the last eight games than this showdown against FC Cincinnati. The Five Stripes managed to cut through the passing lanes and disrupted plays left and right – all while scoring well on all cylinders as they staved off a comeback attempt to win it by 4-2. In a stretch that has seen a lot of drama unfold so far, it does seem that Atlanta is finally back to its winning groove. Fans are certainly looking forward to see them rise in the playoffs like they did last year, but now the job for the team is to get back on track in their games this season. Nothing has been easy for Atlanta – everything had to be earned as the team needed a lot of harsh, yet inspiring talks to get them up and running for impressive performances. Now more than ever, this is a great sign that the club may well be back to race their way to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference standings. A Progress to Remember Atlanta head coach Ronny Delia can be remembered calling out his players as “soft” in the game considering how poorly they have played in the past few games. That message seems to have been heard loud and clear not just by the squad, but with the rest of the league as well. “When you see that determination on set plays, when you see that people want to score, then you see a different team,” Deila said after Atlanta's first win since beating New York City FC on March 29. “You see that we want to clear the ball and we are first to the ball in the box. These kinds of things are key. Beating everybody seems to be quite a promising challenge, and yet Atlanta took off even with all the pressure at hand as they have seen four different scorers bring in the thunder. Goals from Derrick Williams, Ajani Fortune, Bartosz Slisz, and Jamal Thiare all contributed to the massive victory by Atlanta. By the Numbers If you look at the stat sheet, you’d be able to say that Cincinnati would be the clear winner had it not been for the score. Cincinnati had a total of 29 shots attempted compared to Atlanta’s 12, and they even had three more shots on target at 10. Cincinnati also held the ball for 63% of the game and completed a total of 588 passes for 90% pass accuracy. The only thing that was a win for Atlanta? Fewer fouls and zero yellow cards. The Five Stripes played the frustration game for Cincinnati, who only had goals in the second half of the game. This says a lot about the composed confidence that Atlanta has played with in this win compared to the previous matches. “We just need to understand that we can beat anybody, but we can also lose against anybody. This has to be the minimum when we talk about the discipline, when we talk about the killer instinct inside the boxes. Then we can prove our style and our play going forward.” Atlanta will now wrap up its three-game homestand against Orlando City tomorrow for a chance to get into back-to-back wins for the first time since the earlier games of the season.

At the age of 40, there are indeed a lot of discussions online right now as to how legendary MLS star Kei Kamara can actually make an impact for FC Cincinnati. As one of the best players to ever grace the pitch in the league, it seems that there is a lot of hope that the veteran would be able to boost Cincinnati’s hopes of winning a league title now more than ever. Kamara was a free agent even after he ended up producing well with LAFC last season. He scored a total of eight goals and five assists across all competitions for the Western team, which eventually led to the Black and Gold scoring its first US Open Cup title in that campaign. Cincinnati hopes that the experience will rub off well on the rest of the core and turn them into a championship squad. Cincinnati sits atop the Eastern Conference so far in this season and is locked with Columbus Crew for the top spot, only leading by a tiebreaker stat. For this team to actually lock in and come up a championship, Kamara’s big game may be the answer that they have been looking for in a long while. Bringing in the Veteran Kei Kamara stands as one of Major League Soccer’s most enduring and impactful figures. With a career spanning over a decade, Kamara has etched his name into the league’s history books through consistency, athleticism, and an unmistakable flair for scoring goals. As one of the league’s all-time leading goal scorers, his legacy is not just defined by the number of goals he’s netted, but by the breadth of clubs he’s impacted—having played for more MLS teams than any other player. From the Columbus Crew to Sporting Kansas City, and the New England Revolution to the Colorado Rapids, Kamara's ability to adapt and contribute wherever he goes is a testament to his talent and professionalism. What sets Kamara apart is not merely his goal-scoring ability, but his longevity and influence both on and off the field. While many strikers fade after a few seasons, Kamara has maintained a high level of performance well into his late 30s, showcasing not just physical durability but a deep understanding of the game. His aerial dominance, clever movement in the box, and knack for being in the right place at the right time have made him a nightmare for defenders. He’s been a clutch performer in big moments and a reliable presence in attack, often elevating the teams around him with his experience and leadership. What’s in it for Cincinnati Kei Kamara's recent signing with FC Cincinnati marks a significant chapter in both his illustrious MLS career and the club's ambitious trajectory. At 40 years old, Kamara is the second all-time leading goal scorer in MLS history, with 147 regular-season goals and 445 appearances, making him one of the most prolific and experienced players in the league's history. Kamara's versatility and leadership are expected to complement the dynamic play of Kévin Denkey, Cincinnati's current primary striker. The pairing could create a formidable offensive duo, combining Denkey's pace and pressing ability with Kamara's aerial prowess and clinical finishing. This synergy would not only bolster Cincinnati's attacking options but also provide tactical flexibility for head coach Pat Noonan. Kei Kamara's signing with FC Cincinnati is a strategic move that enhances the team's offensive capabilities and injects veteran leadership into the squad. As the club aims for sustained success, Kamara's impact will be pivotal in navigating the challenges of the MLS season and in their pursuit of silverware.

After 10 years with the English Premier League giants Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne is now on the hunt for his next team in his soccer career as MLS club Chicago Fire is actively in talks with the star midfielder’s party and is expected to land a deal once the current EPL season ends. Back in April, De Bruyne announced that he would be moving on from Manchester City – ending his run as one of the most highly acclaimed players in the history of the club. According to multiple sources, Inter Miami is also expected to join in on the talks and maybe in contention for the star midfielder’s signature as well. So far, bringing in De Bruyne is indeed going to be a promising addition to Chicago Fire, who is in dire need of a playmaker and can command across the pitch. This just says a lot about how Chicago is going to make an impressive upgrade with the hopes of climbing up in the league standings and making a rise to a higher level of contention. Chicago’s Gamble Chicago currently ranks outside of the top nine in the MLS standings. The club is ranked 11th overall as of the time of writing and is definitely not likely to come up with even more winning strides in the season. That 3-4-4 record isn’t really much of a great indicator, and one can say that Fire needs a lot of changes in its roster if they are going to make the most of their chances now more than ever. De Bruyne is an expensive talent – but Chicago certainly has the means to land his signature. Sure, Inter Miami does own the discovery rights for the Belgian star, but the team has already filled its max number of designated players in Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba, which means that Chicago’s window is certainly wide open with this potential signing. Chicago, on the other hand, only has one filled spot in the designated players. This means they can even add one more international talent should they find the best fit for their team. It is also noted that the Fire would not even pursue De Bruyne initially if it wasn’t for owner Joe Mansueto’s aggressive and ambitious leadership in the club. De Bruyne’s Resume A six-time champion in the Premier League, a Champions League winner in 2022-23, and having 189 goals to his name in Manchester City history, De Bruyne is definitely a talent to watch, and a huge boost should the Chicago Fire acquire his talents. However, it seems that Chicago will really need to lock in if they are going to bring him in with competition all around. "I’m open for anything, anything, just because I have to look at the whole picture," De Bruyne said. "I’m looking at sporting, family, everything together, what makes the most sense for me and my family. I don’t know what that is, because it depends on when you speak to people and what they say about projects or something, like I said, I still feel like I can play at a good level, but then after I’ll have to make a decision once I really know a little bit more." Still, all signs point toward the likelihood that Chicago will be bringing him in. While there are many rumors about how De Bruyne is expected to sign with other teams, Chicago is emerging as the leading club to look out for in the said sweepstakes for the midfielder.

In eight games, Charlotte FC has been quite the force in the league, and fans cannot deny that this pace has been setting them apart from the rest of the competition. Following a 3-0 clean sheet victory over the fiery San Diego FC, Charlotte has now taken hold of the no. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference, sharing the lead with Cincinnati FC in what is expected to be a crowded set of teams. For what it is worth, Charlotte FC was already in the fifth seed by the end of the previous season. After a wild offseason where they came up with impressive signings and key developments in their staff and roster composition, it looked like Charlotte was ready to contend – and after a few games in the 2025 season, they are making some noise in their games and has made their presence felt so far. It is rare for low-seeded teams to suddenly grab the top spot in the MLS standings, let alone early in the season. But with the power shift in the league that has taken place so far, it is safe to say that there’s indeed something different with the way teams are playing right now. Charlotte, for one, is indeed making the best of its chances to begin with. A Surge for Charlotte FC Charlotte FC remains the only club in the MLS who is yet to lose a game at home – or even a draw on that note. They are a perfect 5-0-0 on their home games and have been really on a roll with 19 points – tied with Cincinnati FC for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. In eight games, both teams have amassed a 6-2-1 record, with Charlotte holding an advantage in goals made so far. San Diego FC – which was one of the fiery teams to begin the season, was taken down in a 3-0 clean sheet at the hands of Charlotte. Liel Abada scored on Pep Biel’s league-leading sixth assist, and they rolled over the expansion team without any hassle. For those who are not aware of Biel’s impressive impact, Charlotte has gone 6-0-1 whenever he has a hand on a goal this season so far. Reigning goalkeeper of the year Krisijan Kahlina also finished with two saves in the game, capping off his fourth clean sheet for Charlotte as the club held San Diego to just nine shots attempt and two of their on-target attempts saved away. Charlotte now returns home to host the New England Revolution this weekend, and one can say that there’s more to expect from the team as to how they can continue winning big games now more than ever. The Power Shift in the MLS The so-called power shift in the MLS can be greatly exaggerated by many fans and critics so far. Sure, league champions LA Galaxy are way below the depths of the West, and their rivals LAFC are seventh overall. In what has been a twist, Vancouver, Austin, Minnesota, Portland, and Colorado all round up the top five in the West – a very different sight from last year’s final standings. What is greatly exaggerated is the Eastern Conference – with Charlotte and Cincinnati at the top, but the last year’s top two teams in Inter Miami and Columbus Crew still remain in the mix for the top five, which makes it not any different at a bigger scale compared to the Western Conference. For Charlotte, this is a big chance for them to stamp their place in MLS history, and one can expect that the team will be rolling hard to keep their hold of the top spot in the East now more than ever.

While he did manage to notch three goals in the Black & Gold’s push at the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals, it cannot be denied that fans were still waiting for Denis Bouanga to break his scoring drought eight games into the season and launch LAFC back into the top of the league – and he finally delivered when it mattered most. Bouanga scored a promising goal late in a 1-1 affair with the San Jose Earthquakes, and it was the game-winning shot that allowed LAFC to escape with a 2-1 win over their rivals and get back to a winning pace heading into their weekend clash with the Portland Timbers. Now the LAFC star is finally back in action, and fans are expecting bigger things to come for the club moving forward. Bouanga was scoreless in his previous five games across all competitions this season, and now he’s finally back into the mix and will likely get a promising pace up and running now more than ever. Ranked seventh overall, LAFC seeks to get back on track and get into a competitive form in order to rally their cause for another playoff campaign. A Rough Start Coming off two seasons with high-scoring numbers for LAFC, much has been expected in Bouanga’s fourth stint with LAFC. It can be remembered that he scored 20 38 goals in his first full season with the team, and later followed that up with 28 goals in the 2024 campaign. So far – Bouanga has four goals in total, with three of those coming in the CONCACAF campaign. "It's always complicated to score the first goal," Bouanga said via a translator after the match. "I missed another opportunity. Now that I scored that goal, it should be okay. Other goals are going to come." After being eliminated by Inter Miami midweek and riding two losses in a row, LAFC definitely needed a positive result to get back on the winning path for the season, and Bouanga’s goal definitely played a huge role in setting them up for a promising pace at this point. So far, being able to bounce back when it mattered most has been one of the known characteristics for LAFC, and Bouanga’s show of response after not being able to score in MLS games has been fun to watch. Bounceback Run For manager Steve Cherundolo, LAFC’s losses will always come and go, Bouanga’s return to scoring is a sign of good things to come for the team at this point – a season where almost nothing has been right so far. His 86th-minute goal proved to be a satisfying sight, especially as it meant getting all three points in a key match. "It's part of every finishing drill. When you finish, you don't shoot and stop; you always see if there's a rebound," he said. "We basically tell our attackers... there is an opportunity to score, no matter if it's unrealistic or easy, always score."It's part of every finishing drill. When you finish, you don't shoot and stop; you always see if there's a rebound," he said. "We basically tell our attackers... there is an opportunity to score, no matter if it's unrealistic or easy, always score. Bouanga is definitely satisfied with his performances and knows that he could have done better in the past few games that ended up as a loss. Now that he’s finally clinched a goal for this season, maybe he can find his rhythm and start serving up winning plays for the team in the coming weeks.

This season has been a phenomenal start for Mikey Varas and the San Diego FC – who have only lost once in the season and is one of the top teams in the blazing Western Conference, which says a lot about the expectations for the club. But on top of all that, Varas is earning buzz for his coaching schemes – tied to the recent success of the team so far. Varas, who formerly served as an assistant in the USMNT and FC Dallas, is scoring big wins and getting impressive returns with his club early in the season. Being the head coach of an expansion team comes with a lot of big expectations, and it is also rare for a new team to be one of the contender teams right off the bat. Thanks to those points, Varas is starting to stir up COTY talks between analysts, experts, and even fellow coaches. At this point, one can say that there’s indeed more to expect from Varas and San Diego moving forward, considering that it is just seven games into the campaign. But the hype is there – and it remains real at this point. Shattering Expectations If you told a San Diego fan that they would be one of the top teams in the Western Conference to begin their first seven games of the season, no one would even blink an eye. The preseason expectations were quite low for the team – as with any other expansion club that has come and joined the MLS since then. And yet, Varas is coaching them well that they are finding ways to win big against tough opponents. To begin its season, Varas and San Diego cruised past four of the last five champions in the league. They defeated LA Galaxy in a 2-0 clean sheet for their season debut, and they even wrought havoc in a massive clash with LAFC for a 3-2 win. The latest? A 3-0 clean sheet once more, this time against the Seattle Sounders. But for Varas, this is just them scratching the surface – the tip of the iceberg. “The fact of the matter is, we're not even close to as good as we can be, because I don't think we've put together more than 50 minutes, 55 minutes of our complete highest level without a bit of a drop,” said head coach Mikey Varas. “When we get there, I think we're going to be quite a special team.” Impressing Expansion If we are going to look at all the expansion teams – San Diego is not doing something that an expansion team should do. They are sitting second in the Western Conference and currently boast the fourth-best record in the league in just seven games. This group has just been together for about two months and a half, and yet they are playing so well that you would not think of them as an expansion team to begin with. Expansion teams haven’t really done well in their inaugural season. Since 1969 across the big four leagues, a total of 37 expansion teams have ended up as cannon fodder for established teams – finishing with a losing record, save for the Vegas Golden Knights – who managed to steer its path to winning the NHL’s Western Conference and pushing to the Stanley Cup Final. Who knows, maybe San Diego can also impress in its first season as an expansion team – make it to the playoffs, and score a trip to the final. Should that happen – expect Varas to get the credit he’s due as one of the best coaches in the game.

Despite being eliminated early in the previous playoffs, both Inter Miami and Columbus Crew now stand as the last two teams not to suffer a defeat after six games played in the current MLS season, and it cannot be denied that there are high expectations for both teams as they seek a promising redemption arc in the 2025 campaign now more than ever. Ranked as the best two teams in the Eastern Conference, it cannot be denied that there is a lot of hype surrounding Inter Miami and Columbus Crew as both have seen some significant changes in the offseason, which says a lot about the way they are playing at a promising level this season so far despite a disappointing finish in the previous campaign. If not a sign of things to come, this impressive start by Inter Miami and the Columbus Crew has proven to be quite a great look to consider – making them promising favorites to rule the Eastern Conference despite a lot of contenders on the rise, like the Philadelphia Union and the Chicago Fire making its runs at the top four so far. Inter Miami’s Blaze Inter Miami's undefeated start to the 2025 season has been one of the most remarkable stories in the MLS so far, and their success can largely be attributed to a combination of stellar individual performances and a cohesive team strategy. Javier Mascherano's first season has been special so far, and being able to capitalize on the arrival of new signings has been impressive so far. The contributions of star players like Lionel Messi, who is still operating at an elite level, have been invaluable to Miami’s success. His playmaking ability, combined with his knack for scoring crucial goals, has made him the focal point of the team’s attack. he team’s depth, with solid bench options, has also been a factor in maintaining their unbeaten run, ensuring that even when injuries or suspensions occur, they can maintain a high level of play. Moreover, Inter Miami's strong team chemistry has been crucial in their undefeated start. The players seem to have a clear understanding of each other’s movements and tendencies, which has translated into fluid attacking sequences and defensive transitions. This cohesion, combined with their ability to adapt to different match situations, has made them a tough team to beat as they sit at the top of the Eastern Conference. Crew on the Rise Again Columbus Crew's explosive start to the 2025 MLS season is nothing short of impressive, especially given the significant loss of star striker Cucho Hernández, who departed in the offseason. Despite this setback, the Crew has been able to adapt and thrive under head coach Wilfried Nancy’s tactical approach. The Crew's offense, while without Hernández’s prolific goal-scoring, has found new avenues of attack thanks to the emergence of other players. The team’s ability to adapt to a more distributed form of attacking play has allowed them to remain a constant threat while maintaining a solid and balanced approach. With a well-rounded squad that thrives on teamwork and tactical discipline, Columbus Crew's fiery start to the 2025 season showcases their adaptability and strength, even in the face of a major offseason departure. So far, this has been a great season for both teams, and one can expect them to have that showdown up and running in the postseason after it was halted by early playoff exits in the previous campaign.